The Perlia Series
by Destin-Jackson19
Summary: The usual characters read the books bits by bits Perlia Style LT,SOM,TTC,BOTL,TLO. (Name Change)
1. Chapter 1

Winter Solstice

December 21st, 2004

6:00 pm

Hestia's POV

It was the Winter Solstice like always Zeus and Hera were bickering, Poseidon and Athena were arguring about Athens, Artemis and Aphrodite were bickering about the benefits of love, and so on. A firey firework that spelled out " ARE YOU ALL KINDEGARTENS? " They looked at me I just shrugged. I pointed at the clock that held several voices crying out " HEY NICO GET OFF MY HEAD! " "SOON AS ANNIE HERE GET OFF MY A-" NICO, PROFANITY!" I was chuckling with Apollo and Hermes as voices kept yelling at the "Nico."

Zeus being the pseudo God of Theather yelled out "Who are you and why are you interrupting my honorary meeting." I watched as the mysterious people looked up and I notice none of them looked older than 16 years old. One girl that had stormy blue eyes were red and had tear stains on her face. The others were trying and failing to comfort except for three people who looked confused.

Just as Zeus was going to repeat himself a flash was seen and five books and a letter fell from the sky and hit the floor. Athena picked it up and started to read the note.

_ Dear Gods and Demigods,_

_We have sent these demigods from the future to read about a great hero of the future Perseus "Percy" Jackson. _

_We will send visitors periodically and will send Percy there soon. _

_No harming the demigods and Zeus no trying to kill Percy you've tried many times _

_not going to happen unless you want to see your father sooner than later_

_ P.S You must use full titles and who your in and a relationship with so sorry Thalia. Peace._

_ From Apollo, The Three Fates, and Hermes._

The demigods looked at each other and gave a nod and pushed Nico out first. "Hey!" Fine, I'm Nico DiAngelo Son of Hades I was placed and the Lotus Hotel when I was child before the war. The crying girl stood up and started My name is Thalia Grace Daughter of Zeus, Heroine of Olympus, Girlfriend of Percy Jackson. Aphrodite squealed almost breaking everyone on Olympus ears. Zeus was red with Anger. Uh oh. " WHAT YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO HAVE A BOYFRIEND, WHEN I GET THAT INSOLENT, ROTTEN, NO GOOD BOY I WILL THROW HIM DEEP IN TARTURUS. Zeus yelled. Thalia, and the other demigods were trying not to laugh but they couldn't take it and they laughed. " You said the same exact thing in 2009.

"Can we continue please." I said Annabeth Chase Daughter of Athena, Huntress of Artemis. Athena gave her daughter a nod and a smile. Artemis looked at Annabeth wearily and said "What about Zoe?" Annabeth face darkened and she said nothing. Travis and Connor Stoll Sons of Hermes. Katie Gardner Daughter of Demeter. Clarrise La Rue Daughter of Ares. Chris Rodriguez Son of Hermes. Leo Valdez Son of Hephaestus, Fire User. Piper McLean Daughter of Aphrodite, Charmspeaker. Jason Grace Son of Jupiter, Praetor of the Tweltfh Legion. Frank Zhang Son of Mars. Hazel Levesque Daughter of Pluto. Reyna Daughter of Bellona.

"What are Romans doing with Greeks?" Athena said. "We don't know. We were just with Percy celebrating our win against Polybotes and we saw flash and poof were here. Hazel said.

"Wait Percy is alive? Nico said having a gleam of hesitation looking at the Romans." "Nico, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the underworld with Dad? And why are you saying Dad's Greek name I thought you were Roman? Hazel said blasting question after question.

"Wait, you knew where Percy was and you didn't tell me!? Thalia said with Anger in her eyes."

"I couldn't tell anyone, it was Hera's fault." Nico said very quickly walking back toward a shadow to get away from Thalia who had a dangerous glint in her eyes.

There was a flash and the voice said " Now Thalia you know not to kill Nico without me right?"

Thalia stopped and looked the figure. He looked about 16 years old about 6'1 he wore a purple shirt with a cape that said in Latin 'Praetor.' He had sea-green eyes just like my brother and he had a mischievous glint in his eyes that only Hermes has. He was giving Thalia a crooked grin that made Aphrodite, Demeter, Artemis, and Athena blush.

"Percy." Thalia whispered as she ran up to him and jumped in his arms hugging him.

" What's up Pinecone Face? " Percy said. "What's up you been gone for almost nine months and all you can say is what's up?" The Greeks minus Piper and Leo groaned. "Ughh Oh Gods not again. They see each other again and all they do is just flirt-fight." They said in unison.

"NO, WE DON'T." Thalia and Percy yelled back to the others The other Gods and Goddesses were watching this clearly amused even though some of the goddesses had a jealous glint in their eyes especially Artemis and Athena.

"Ok, can we read now" I said after I had enough of the hateful words being thrown around. "OK, Lady Hestia we are sorry." Percy, Thalia, and Nico said "Guys, Percy has to introduce himself "Alright, Perseus "Percy" Jackson Son of Poseidon; Hero of Olympus; Savior of Olympus; and Bane of a lot of monsters that I don't want to mention.

He is not arrogant like other men in the world I thought looking at Athena and Artemis. Zeus on the hand was one mad man. "I will not allow this! Poseidon don't you see this. " I agree, I don't like this but if my son is happy then I am too. "Ughh, fine I agree also but if you br-. " If I break heart then you will break me." Percy said in a bored tone " I hear this in 5 years so I'm cool.

"Alright, let's read."


	2. I Vaporize My Pre-Algrebra Teacher

**I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre – Algebra Teacher **Poseidon read.

"Are all the chapter names going to be weird like this?" Leo asked.

"Most likely." was the general answer.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

At this all of the half-bloods sighed. The gods wondered what might make them think like that.

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: **

"NO!"Every Greek besides Piper and Leo yelled. "Hey! My ideas can be great just not all the time." Percy said pouting Thalia laughed at her boyfriend giving him a kiss on the cheek.

**close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

They shrugged then said, "It's not that bad."

**Being a half – blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

The demigods grimaced.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

"So do we." This came from all the half-bloods including the Romans who had been told about the Titan War from the Greek side. All the gods shared a glance and the same thought was going through their minds, _What happened?_ Zeus was about to ask the demigods but then Poseidon kept reading.

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages―if you feel something stirring inside―stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"Unfortunately there was no way you could have with what was coming up." Nico said and the rest of the half-bloods nodded.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"No it's Peter Johnson." Conner said trying an attempt of a joke seeing all of the half-bloods managed to laugh and Dionysus agreed with Connor.

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"Yes." Everyone said including Percy the Gods looked him and said " You know you called yourself troubled right?" "Yeah and?"

**Yeah. You could say that.**

At this all the half-bloods smiled.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our grade six class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight-mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"That doesn't seem bad." This of course came from Annabeth.

**I know- it sounds like torture. **

At this Annabeth huffed and everyone snickered.

**Most Yancy field trips were.** **But Mr. Brunner, our latin teacher was leading this trip, so I had high hopes.**

The Romans sat up, "Latin?"

**Mr. Brunner was this middle aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he was cool, but he told stories and jokes and would let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"That's horrible." Athena stated and everyone ignored her.

"Hey, doesn't that sound like Chiron?" Katie asked to no one in particular. Everyone turned to Dionysus whose head was in a magazine.

He looked up and was about to go back to his magazine until he saw Zeus glaring at him. He sighed and said. "Yes, that's him."

"Are you even paying attention?" Aphrodite asked.

"Maybe, are you?" He got whacked in the head with a stiletto for that.

**I hoped the trip would be ok. At least, I hoped for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"Why would he even think that?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah," Nico agreed, "When is Percy never in any type of trouble?"

Thalia and Annabeth laughed, but Poseidon was wondering why Clarisse and Nico would say that. _Would my son get in that much trouble in the future?_

**Boy was I wrong.**

The Greeks minus the two snorted.

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus but of course, I got expelled anyway.**

…

"Oh… my… gods!" hermes and Apollo managed to yell through his laughter. Everyone else however couldn't breathe. After everyone calmed down TPoseidon continued.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. **

This resulted in another round of laughter. A couple minutes later they managed to calm down.

**And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.**

At this point all of the half-bloods were arguing.

"He's such a kelp head." Thalia said.

"No, no Thalia." Nico said, "He's an aqua dude." Connor and Travis quickly agreed with Nico and Nico got a smug look on his face.

"You're all wrong," Clarisse interrupted them, "Obviously he's Prissy."

Before Poseidon could interrupt the group started a debate on which one of them was correct with the Stolls backing up Nico. Katie started yelling at the Stolls and Nico while backing up Clarisse. Jason and Leo started cracking up at the nicknames they had for Percy. The gods watched this in interest; this was their children after all. Piper leaned over to Annabeth and all the gods stopped watching the fight to see what she would do.

"Are they always like this?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered smiling a bit, "Hold on."

Annabeth cleared her throat and the group stopped arguing to look at her afraid of what she would do since they were arguing about Percy. She might still be hard on that subject but she simply said, "You're all wrong."

"Oh," Travis said taking a risk, "and why is that Annie?"

Annabeth glared at Travis and he shuddered.

"Because he's a Seaweed Brain."

…

Then simultaneously they all said, "Touche."

Percy pouted and said "I have such good friends." Percy said with very thick sarcasm. Thalia laughed and kissed him for about 10 seconds before they pulled back. He grinned and told the Romans ' that's how you do it." Thalia must have heard him because half a second later he was crisped.

**This trip, I was determined to be good. All the way into the city I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chinks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

At this the half-bloods frowned.

**Grover was an easy target.**

"Grover the satyr!" Zeus boomed and started to huff.

Thalia nodded. "He's not that bad father."

"He let you die."

"He didn't let me die." Thalia said. "I chose my fate." Her father calmed down after this.

**He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated.**

"Did he do that because of…?" Thalia asked Annabeth.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered.

Thalia sighed and the gods understood what she was talking about.

**He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should have seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"I don't think Grover would like that description." Apollo mused.

"He's blowing his cover." Artemis said.

"I don't blame him," Connor said.

"Oh," Artemis said, "Why not?"

"'Cause, Grover's obsessed with Enchiladas." Travis said and Connor agreed.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her cause I was already on probation. The headmaster threatened me with death **

"What!"The Demigods yelled.

Poseidon smiled and said, "Wait I'm not done reading."

**by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Oh,"The demigods answered smiling sheepishly. A couple people snickered.

Hermes frowned, "That sucks." Apollo agreed.

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"Do it!" Clarisse and Ares shouted. Some people agreed.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's ok. I like peanut butter." He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

Ares became very sad at this.

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."** **Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. **

**In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

"What!" Thalia shouted. Everyone else ignored her.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.** **He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Longer than that." Hephaestus muttered.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele for a girl our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everyone around me was talking, and every time, I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

"Why does she sound like someone I know?" Nico wondered and Hades agreed. She did sound familiar.

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to drive a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

Nico's eyes widened at this. He knew who "Mrs. Dodd's" was. He hoped his dad had guessed it to but no such luck.

"Pfft, yeah nervous breakdown." Hermes muttered.

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. **

"Well if you want to go by fact," Travis started.

"That would be Nico," Connor finished.

"Yeah… wait-What!" Nico said. All the demigods started laughing and Hades huffed and glared at the gods daring them to say anything. Even Percy cracked a smile and all the half-bloods could tell he wasn't mad at them anymore.

**She would point her finger at me and say, "Now honey," real sweet and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month. One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, **

"She really is evil isn't she?" Leo asked and Jason nodded.

"You have no idea." Nico muttered but they couldn't hear him.

**I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

All the half-bloods shuddered.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about the Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, **

"She's so immature." Piper said and everyone else agreed.

**and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"**

"Good." Jason said and several people nodded.

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

"Of course it did." Thalia said.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele.**

**"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

Poseidon and all the elder gods except Zeus shivered. "It had to be that one didn't it?" Hades said. Nico grimaced along with his father. Katie didn't look to good either. Percy also looked like his father turning more green by the second Thalia looked at Nico,Katie, and her boyfriend with sympathy.

"Why is it never a different stele?" Demeter ranted. "Why is it always that one?"

Poseidon, to stop Demeter's rant, kept reading.

**"Yes," said Mr. Brunner obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because..."**

**"Well..." I racked my brain trying to remember. **

"He needs to eat more muffins." Demeter said.

"Oh, will you stop with that already!" Hades yelled.

Nico snorted. "It's worse in the future." He said. "All she talks about is cereal."

"Cereal…" Demeter mused.

"Don't give her any ideas!" Hades said. "Keep reading Poseidon!"

**"Kronos was the king god, and-"**

"GOD!" everyone shouted and Zeus huffed.

"Well if he didn't know then he does now." Rachel said. The half-bloods agreed.

"What do you mean he knows now?" Athena asked the group. They all glanced worriedly at each other.

"Nothing." They all chorused. Athena however still remained suspicious to what was going on.

Chris who got at what Rachel was hinting at grimaced remembering what he had done. "I'm sure Chiron will correct him."

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself.**

"See."

**"And... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"**

Again the elder gods and the three grimaced.

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"Exactly." Aphrodite said.

**"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

"He just shortened a century worth of fighting," Jason started.

"Into a couple of sentences," Leo finished.

"Yeah, cause I'm like that." Percy shrugged.

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Why are they laughing you got that right?" Chris asked Percy.

"Mortals are weird." Percy replied.

"I'm right here you know." Rachel said. They ignored her.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted," the Stolls snickered.

Poseidon smiled as she read the next line.

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

"Oh no," Conner started.

"We think like a satyr." Travis finished.

They both looked at each other and grimaced. "Oh the horror!" They hugged each other and acted like they were crying.

Annabeth shook her head at the duo's antics and told Poseidon to read on.

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who every caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"Or a horse's ears." Leo said. "Wait, do his ears count as a horse's ears?"

His answer was a bunch of shrugs.

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see," Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe and scattered him remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

All the demigods smiled at this.

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

"Boys are doofuses." Artemis said. All the girls agreed while the boys shouted and protested.

"Poseidon read on." Athena said.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew what was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go―**

"It never does," Piper said and the others agreed.

**intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

"It's for the best."Hestia said scaring everyone but Nico and Percy as if they were used to it.

**I mean, sure it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us, sword point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"Cool."

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I have never made above a C- in my life. No―he didn't want me to be as good he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"I know what you mean." Leo said.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took a long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"He probably was."

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch. The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a large storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was Global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

Everyone glanced at Zeus and then glanced at the demigods.

"You'll find out soon." Percy said and Poseidon kept reading.

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school―the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean―I'm not a genius."**

All the demigods minus The Romans, Piper, and Leo snorted.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Thalia cracked a smile at her boyfriend who was watching her observing her he said "Are you wearing my stuff, Sparks? Yeah and what are you going to do about i- she didn't finish because tackled her and tickled her saying" That is what I do, Sparks."

The demigods smiled at the couple after all they heard that they really loved each other. The gods smiled at the two including Artemis as they read on she grew more respect for Percy and maybe a little crush but she put it away so Aphrodite couldn't find it.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head for home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to get kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

Poseidon and those who had met Sally smiled.

Aphrodite squealed and when everyone turned to her she said, "Poseidon still likes her."

Piper smiled at her mother's antics.

"You really cares about her doesn't you?" Piper asked and everyone who had met Sally smiled and nodded their head

"You have no idea Piper." Percy muttered.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

"Cool," said Leo and he started fantasizing about how it looked.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends―I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists―and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

Thalia, Nico, and Percy growled evilly while the others scooted away from them because their powers were acting up.

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

"Oh yeah," Travis said his voice oozing with sarcasm, "Very attractive."

"Your descriptions are weird." Nico said.

"You are too." Percy and Thalia said.

"I wonder how you'll describe us?" Thalia said

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

All the demigods smiled at this knowing Nancy would get what she would deserve.

"**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

"Woo! Go Kelp Head/Seaweed Brain/Aquaman!" was all you heard screaming.

Before a fight could break out over nicknames again Piper said, "Poseidon, if you could?"

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see―"**

**"―the water―"**

**"―like it grabbed her―"**

Everyone smiled at this.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. **

"Oh no." All the demigods said realizing who Mrs. Dodds was.

Hades who realized who Mrs. Dodds was gasped and said, "Alecto."

All the gods gasped and the tension in the air rose.

"You sent a fury after my son." Poseidon almost yelled. Hades eyes were bugging out.

"Dad!, stop I'm okay i'm here." " Don't hurt Uncle Hades!" Percy screamed to his father

Poseidon glared at Hades but didn't do anything.

**"Now, honey―"**

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"Never guess your punishment." Connor and Travis said trying to diffuse the tension. "Exactly," Hermes agreed, "That's rule number 18."

"There's a rule book?" Hephaestus asked incredulous.

"Yep."

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

Connor, Travis, and Hermes looked smug at this. Everyone rolled their eyes at them.

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her."**

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

"That is so cool," said Connor, "When we get back we have to get Grover to do that."

"We should totally video tape it." Travis agreed.

"Hey guys?"

"Yeah Thalia?"

"Shut up."

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But―"**

**"You―will―stay―here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "Now."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

Every demigod except the three shivered at Percy's glare.

"Percy can be scary if he wanted to and you didn't need to be on the recieving one if you value your life." Thalia said looking at her boyfriend's face who was smirking at the others while the gods were thinking _Where did he learn to do that._

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

"Super human speed." Katie said.

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

"I'm not so sure." Poseidon said.

**I wasn't so sure.**

"Like father, like son." Rachel said. Everyone else snorted. Poseidon and Percy however was happy that they shared the same thoughts.

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

The tension increased twice as much then.

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

"Oh great."

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

"I wish." Thalia muttered.

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

"It never is." Thalia said.

Percy who notice her discomfort kissed her on her lips for about two minutes before saying " You know me better than that Thals." She smiled him and give a peck on the lips before saying " I sure do."

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"Even better." Leo said his voice full of sarcasm.

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

"She probably is." Clarisse said and Piper agreed.

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "What problems?"

But none of the demigods answered. Suddenly Athena gasped. She had made the connection between the title and why Zeus was acting so weird.

"What is it?" Zeus asked.

Athena was about to answer when she saw the look on the demigods' faces pleading her not to tell. She sighed and said,"Nothing."

All the demigods were relieved. If Zeus had found out what had happened he would have probably killed Percy on the spot.

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

"Get away with what?" Apollo asked. But no one answered.

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Sadly, that's exactly what she plans on doing." Thalia and the others muttered. Percy said " Guys, I am here right now. Stop acting like i am dead.

**I said, "I'll―I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

All the gods and some of the demigods glanced at Zeus who was wondering why he was so angry.

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

"Confess about what?" Poseidon asked. He was truly worried for his son but no one offered an answer.

**I didn't know what she was talking about.** **All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.**

Hermes,Apollo, and the Stolls were looking at Percy with respect.

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

All the gods and demigods agreed while the goddesses rolled their eyes. Hey, the demigods do have dyslexia.

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

No one said a word or moved a centimeter while Poseidon read.

**Then things got even stranger.**

"How strange can they get?" Leo asked.

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

A collective sigh was let out as Poseidon read this.

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me. With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword―Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

Percy smiled fondly, "Ah, Anaklusmos." before grimacing at Zoe's death and who sword he held in his hands.

His eyes darken at the thought of Hercules hurting his friends the demigods and gods were looking at him with worry.

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wuss." Ares said and Clarisse was about to agree but then Ares was blasted with water and Clarisse decided to keep her mouth shut.

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"She used that all the way back then?" Nico said with disgust.

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

"Yeah, 'cause it's natural to everyone to swing a sword." Leo said.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!**

"Yeah Go-"

"If you say Aqua Dude I will singe off your eyebrows with lightning."

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan.**

"That's a weird way to describe it." Jason said.

**She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

"That's creepy." Rachel said.

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

"The mist is still affecting you?"

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Yeah that's it." Hermes said.

"Magic mushrooms…" Connor said.

"Oh no…" All the demigods got scared.

Travis grinned. "Could we-"

"NO!"

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

"No."

**I went back outside. It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Who?"

**I said, "Who?"**

**"Our teacher. Duh!"**

"What just happened?" Rachel asked.

"The mist." Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy replied.

"Oh."

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

Travis turned to Connor, "We need to give Grover lying lessons when we go back."

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

"Apparently Zeus think so." Piper said.

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

Many people smiled at this.

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"At least Chiron can lie." Travis said. Connor nodded in agreement.

"Who's reading next?" Poseidon asked.


	3. Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks of Death

**"Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks of Death." **Nico read.

"Death?" Hades asked innocently. Nico nodded.

Hades smiled which made him look more like a madman than ever. Everyone shivered except for Percy and Nico.

"Told you he was deranged." Zeus told Poseidon.

Hades who heard smirked at his brothers and said "I know bros, I know."

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. **

**The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr-a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip-had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

"I don't blame you for being paranoid. If that happened to me I'd probably be locked up in a mental institute before the end of the school year." Apollo stated.

"Apollo, you _belong_ in a mental institute." Artemis replied and Percy and Athena agreed.…

"Hey! That's insulting." Apollo pouted. The rest of the gods did their hardest to hold back their laughter to avoid insulting Apollo. The demigods however didn't hold anything back and Rachel huffed.

"It's alright Apollo embrace it." Hermes said. "I can set you up in a center as soon as we finish reading these books. You'll get better."

Nico took that as a cue to continue reading.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

Clarisse snorted. "That's an understatement. You are psycho."

"Yeah, Perce you could when your pissed." Thalia agreed looking at her boyfriend who just looked at her and grinned his mischevious grin.

"Then that means he's exactly like his dad." Demeter said and Poseidon and Percy huffed at her.

**It got so I almost believed them-Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

"At least you'll be safe for a little while." Chris stated.

"Only for a little bit." Thalia replied. "It said almost."

**Almost.**

Thalia blushed at this and the demigods chuckled.

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"Ugh, we really need to teach him how to lie when we go back." Connor said.

"I'll set it up." Travis stated as he got a small book from his back pocket and wrote down Grover's name.

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, **

"Rule number 18!" Hermes said exasperated.

**then claim she didn't exist**. **But I knew he was lying.**

"Grover is a really bad liar." Nico and Percy stated.

"I know right." Thalia replied.

"Once I asked him why my cabin looked liked it was trashed because he was standing right next to it and he looked at the Hermes cabin and started fidgeting with his hands and stuttered when he told me that he didn't know." Nico said.

"Wow," Travis said to Connor. "This is going to be hard."

"I don't think Juniper would like that." Katie said.

"Who's Juniper?" Piper asked.

"A tree nymph. She's Grover's girlfriend."

"Oh."

**Something was going on. Something **_**had**_** happened at the museum.**

"No really." Leo said. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"Oh shut up," Piper scolded. "You're first monster attack didn't end so well either."

Leo grimaced at the reminder.

"Hey Leo, if your with me you get to go pyromaniac all over again." Percy said knowing Leo would jump up grinning like the Chesire Cat.

Leo grinned at Percy and said " This is the start of a beautiful friendship, dude."

Everyone laughed at the two who was eying the Stolls who was scheming up a prank.

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

"I hate it when that happens." Nico said and the others agreed. They had had trouble sleeping over night mares like that before.

Percy grimaced thinking of all his nightmares he encountered and said "You guys are lucky then, because if your were me you would gone crazy." Percy said looking very serious

All of the demigods were looking at him like WHAT! except for Thalia who was kissed her boyfriend on his cheek.

The Gods were shocked that Percy had encountered so much and haven't gone insane with saving the world and protecting everyone they couldn't even do it.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy.**

"Why are you so angry Zeus?" Demeter asked.

Percy and Poseidon had a mischevious look in their eyes and said in unison " Zeus is always mad."

Zeus glared at the two but didn't say anything

Nico took the cue to kept reading.

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"And now apparently Poseidon's angry too."

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

Athena gasped. "He really is your spawn fish face."

"Oh shut it, owl breath."

"Kelp for brains."

"Know-it-all."

"Barnacle beard."

"Bird brain."

"ENOUGH." Zeus yelled. The others sighed. They had been watching the argument like a tennis match.

Ares pouted. "The fight was just getting good…" He faltered at Zeus's glare.

Nico took this time to keep reading.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

Hermes, Apollo, and the all the other pranksters stared at Percy with more respect than Zeus.

Poseidon sighed. _Oh, Percy._

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

Annabeth, Thalia, Nico chuckled shaking their heads at Percy who was grinning at the them.

"What does it mean?" Jason asked.

"Look, at Mr. D." was all Percy said

…

The the room erupted in fits of giggles.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

"Aww, is Prissy missing his mommy?" Clarisse said and Percy glared at her his worst glare scaring everyone including the Olympians.

"If you knew how she was you would miss her too." Nico said. Poseidon looked at Nico.

"You've met her?"

"Yeah." Nico said.

"She makes the best blue cookies." Thalia said and Annabeth agreed.

"Wait, blue cookies?" Piper asked. Rachel nodded.

Athena looked at Annabeth. "You've met her too?" Annabeth nodded. Nico kept on reading.

Hermes wasn't listening. He leaned toward Apollo. "What is a daughter of Athena doing meeting the son of Poseidon's mom?"

Apollo shrugged. "You don't think they could have been together do you?"

A light erupted in Hermes's eyes. "That would be so ironic. We could tease Athena about it."

"No seriously man. She really seems to cares about him though."

"We'll see. We can ask Aphrodite later." The two turned back to Nico but found that everyone was staring at them.

"What are you two talking about?" Athena asked.

"Umm… wouldn't you like to know?" Hermes grinned. Athena looked disgusted.

"Never mind."

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Percy flinched at little at the thought of Gabe only Poseidon saw it.

Poseidon frowned and growled. When everyone turned to look at him he said,"Read Nico."

**And yet . . . there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange.**

"That's sweet… I guess." Aphrodite said.

**I worried how he'd survive next year without me. I'd miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days in his faith that I could do well.**

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. **

Piper smiled. "You want to impress Chiron."

"Yep, he is like my second father."

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner told me about this subject being life-a-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Good."

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology **_**across my dorm room. **

"How could you!?" giving him her worst glare

Percy just looked at her not flinching or running away

Everyone else was shocked and looked at her.

She stopped and just stared at boy in wonder. _How can he withstand my glare without running away hmmm._

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin Verbs? Forget it.**

"That's so easy-" Athena started.

"Read! Before she starts!"Poseidon, Percy, Hades, Nico, and Thalia yelled. Athena huffed.

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"Ugh, not a good feeling." Travis said. Connor nodded.

"And how would you know how that feels?" Jason asked.

"One of our pranks on the Demeter cabin backfired once and there were too many ants and … it's a long story."

Demeter smirked while Katie punched Travis and Connor.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_

**I took a deep breath. I picked up my mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

"Your not very sure of yourself are you?" Chris askedPercy.

He nodded.

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice was definitely Grover's said ". . . worries about Percy, sir."**

"Oh, no."

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

Nico, Thalia, and Annabeth snorted.

"I am." The Stolls stated.

"Of_ course_ you are." The demigods rolled their eyes.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"I can't say I wouldn't." Piper said.

**I inched closer.**

**". . . alone this summer." Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**! Now that we know for sure, and **_**they**_** know too-"**

"**We would only make matters worse by rushing him." Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead-line-"**

"A dead line?" Artemis muttered. "Then something has to be done by the summer solstice but why-"

Her eyes bugged out. She had made the connection between the book title and the information she had now.

"You know what it is don't you?" Hermes asked.

"Are you going to tell us?" Ares stated.

"No, you can figure it out by yourself."

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he **_**saw**_** her . . ."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

**"Sir, I . . . I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

At this Thalia sighed.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-"**

"Why would they have to worry about that?" Poseidon said but everyone ignored him. They were too caught up in the book. Even Dionysus put his magazine down to listen.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"No! That's rule number six. Don't blow your cover!" Hermes said.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

"Good." Leo said. "Retreat."

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"He's out of his wheelchair?" Katie asked.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow **_**clop-clop-clop,**_**like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat tickled down my neck.**

The same thing happened all around the room.

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

"What happened at the solstice?" Hades asked.

…

"Ugh, why can't you guys just give us an straight answer for once! This is getting too confusing." Ares said and Aphrodite agreed.

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn . . ."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."**

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever. **

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to get ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just . . . tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, **

"That's not going to work." Dionysus said. "He can't read your expressions but he can read your emotions."

**and started getting ready for bed.**

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

"Don't."

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,**

"Three hours!" The demigods yelled except for The Romans and Percy.

"How come you didn't yell , Perce?" The Stolls asked

"Because I can read Latin and Greek, it's hardwired in my brain." Percy said back without looking them

The Gods looked at each other thinking the same thing, _How is it hardwired in his brain if he is a Greek unless..._

**my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's . . . it's for the best."**

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic kidding motions with her lips.**

Thalia turned blood-shot red at this Percy looked at her and said. " Are you really jealous of that, Sparks?"

She blushed and shook her head and put her head his lap and closed her eyes while Percy stroke through her hair.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean . . ." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Wow, wait to go Chiron." Annabeth said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

**My eyes stung.**

Clarisse was about to tease Percy but then saw the look on Thalia's face and decided to hold back.

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

"That is harsh." The demigods said.

**"Right." I said, trembling.**

**"," Mr. Brunner said. Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say . . . you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

**"Percy-"**

**But I was already gone.**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich**_** juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"I'm not so sure about that." Nico said.

"Well," Hades started. "Considering who were talking about..."

"I wouldn't mind," Zeus continued, "Calling Poseidon a nobody."

Poseidon huffed. "Look who's talking."

Percy shot back " who said I was talking about him."

Before WWIII could break out, Nico decided to read.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"That's mean." Rachel said.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

"Oh, Grover."

**Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"That must have scared him real good." Hermes said with a glint in his eyes. Apollo agreed.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha- what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

"No, don't confess. Never confess." Connor said.

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

**"Oh . . . not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"**

"Exactly what we want to know." Poseidon muttered.

**He winced. "Look, Percy . . . I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers . . ."**

Nico and Percy chuckled. When everyone looked at them they said, "Demon math teachers."

**"Grover-"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and . . ."**

"Grover's a really bad liar." Thalia said.

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"Thank you!" The Stolls shouted.

Thalia however was looking at the book in horror while everyone else snickered at her expression.

Percy mock glared at her but everyone still flinched a bit.

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

_**Grover Underwood**_

_**Keeper**_

_**Half-Blood Hill**_

_**Long Island, New York**_

_**(800) 009-0009**_

"Why is it written in fancy script?" Athena asked Dionysus.

He smiled evilly, "It's funny to see them try to read it."

**"What's Half-"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" He yelped. "That's my, um . . . summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

**"Okay." I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

"Pfft, mansion."

**He nodded. "Or . . . or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

"That's harsh." Piper said and Jason agreed.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"Good."

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. **

"That's sweet." Katie said.

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me.**_

**"Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.**

All the girls wrinkled their noses. The guys didn't look much better.

**The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were stretch of country road-no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

Everyone shivered. "Why does that sound familiar?" Hades wondered.

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

The gods gasped. "The Fates!"

"What?" The demigods yelled.

"You saw the fates!" Thalia yelled and Annabeth and Nico paled.

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

The tension in the room rose.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"Not funny, Perce." Chris stated.

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

Everyone snorted.

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

Everyone else caught their breaths too.

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

**"What?" I said. "It's thousand degrees in there."**

"Listen to him." Poseidon urged. No one bothered to tell him he was speaking to a book.

Percy looked at his dad and said " Guys, I am right here ALIVE!."

**"Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me.**

**The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that **_**snip**_** across four-lanes of traffic.**

At this everyone else got extremely pale. Nico had to catch his breath while he read this sentence.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for- Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

Some people cracked a sad smile at this but no one laughed.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

**The passengers cheered.**

Everyone relaxed a little at this.

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like . . . Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"Worse." Zeus whispered but everyone heard him.

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost-older.**

"Your very observant, dude" Jason said.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal. **

**This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumbs. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

Again Thalia frowned. She didn't know her choice had affected Grover so much.

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me, "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"Dramatic much." Nico snorted.

"How is you still alive?" Chris asked.

Percy put a finger to his lips and said I not telling, Rodriguez

Percy said "I'll read next."

**THANKS EVERYONE THERE'S A POLL ON MY PROFILE ABOUT WHAT STORY I SHOULD FINISH FIRST CAN YOU VOTE BECAUSE I'M HAVING A LONG TIME CHOOSING WHICH ONE TO UPDATE AND WHICH NOT TO. SO **

**THAHKS, DESTIN-JACKSON OUT, PEACE!**


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (SORRY IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A CHAPTER BUT THIS URGENT)**

**HEY, EVERYONE THIS DESTIN-JACKSON AND I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT MANY PEOPLE LIKE MY STORIES BUT I'M HAVING A PROBLEM AND I NEED YOUR OPINION ON IT SO CAN EVERYONE PLEASE GO TO MY PROFILE AND VOTE WHICH STORY I SHOULD FINISH FIRST GUARDIAN OF THE HUNT OR LIGHTNING THEIF:PERLIA AND ALSO, I NEED REVIEWS FOR EACH OF MY STORIES BEFORE I POST BECAUSE I DON'T THINK YOU GUYS WANT TO READS IT AND MAKES ME VERY VEWRY VERY SAD SO CAN I ATLEAST GET 4 REVIEWS FOR BOTH OF MY STORIES AND VOTE PLZ**

**SO, DESTIN-JACKSON OUT PEACE!**


	5. Grover Loses His Pants

**HEY, EVERYONE I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU THAT GUARDIAN OF THE HUNT WON THE POLL AND I WILL UPDATE THIS STORY TWO TIMES A MONTH UNTIL I'M DONE WITH "GoTH,CoC" SO THERE WILL BE ANOTHER UPDATE SOMETIME THIS MONTH SO THANKS. AND ON TO CHAPTER 4...**

**"Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants"** Percy read.

"What the heck?" Connor snickered.

"Why would Grover lose his pants?" Travis asked.

"I know!" Nico said. "He entered a body building contest but he didn't want to show off his week and spindly arms so he showed off his somewhat buff and skinny mountain goat legs."

"Or it's just the fact that he's a faun, I mean satyr." Jason,Thalia, and Percy said. "And he needed to run faster to get to Percy/Me so he took off his pants."

"Oh."

"I like my explanation better though." Nico said. The Stoll brothers nodded in agreement.

"But it doesn't make sense." Athena stated.

"You have to admit though," Hermes said. "It's more believable."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Read Percy, so we can finish the book this millennium."

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

Annabeth and Thalia face palmed. "Why would you do that? It will put you in more danger."

"Some promise that turned out to be." Hephaestus said.

Percy looked at everyone grinning widely.

**I know, I know. It was rude. **

"Very rude." Hera said.

No one paid her attention and she huffed in annoyance.

**But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

The demigods par Percy frowned. "That is so creepy." Piper said.

Poseidon shrugged. "If it was me I would've done the same thing."

"Yes but we've already established that you're just like Percy." Aphrodite said. "

"Maybe we should get back to reading." Percy

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, **

Travis was about to say something but then Katie stepped on his toes to stop him and he yelped. When everyone turned to look at him he bit his tongue and shook his head. Chris and Percy who sat across from Travis and had seen everything tried hard to contain his laughter.

**so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, **

"Exactly." Thalia said. Annabeth and Nico agreed and Poseidon smiled.

**which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

"What?" Nico asked. He turned to Annabeth.

"I don't know."

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

"Wow." Hermes said.

"Poseidon, why didn't you help her?" Aphrodite asked.

"I tried to but she wouldn't let me." Poseidon answered. "She always denied my gifts. Always wanted to do everything for herself."

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

"EEEEK!"

Everybody literally jumped out of their seats.

"THAT is SO _cute!_" Aphrodite shrieked.

"Aphrodite, sweetie," Ares said. "Maybe you should tone it down a bit."

"Preferably _before_, we all go deaf." Hephaestus muttered.

Leo turned to Piper. "You are almost nothing like your mom." Piper shrugged.

Athena growled at bit her face red with jealously

_What does that mortal have that I don't?_

**I don't have memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

Poseidon smiled. He had visited Percy once when Sally was out.

**My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

Hermes gaped. "It sounds like she still likes you Poseidon."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about that?"

"Well," Apollo started. "Most of the girls we get together with either hate us at the end of the relationship or just don't feel anything."

"But it sounds like she still likes you." Hermes repeated.

Poseidon just smiled smugly, "All my secrets stay with me."

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"Well I guess it's not technically a lie." Annabeth stated. "But it's not the truth either."

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

"That," Thalia said. "Is an understatement."

"Yeah," Nico said. "When have you ever done the easy thing?"

"Yes...maybe... matter of fact no." Percy said while everyone laughed at his thinking face.

Annabeth said. "Percy, why don't you read?"

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano,**

Percy flinched a bit but unlike last time it was noticeable. But Poseidon,Thalia,Nico, and Annabeth saw it and watched Percy for a bit but shrugged it off.

**who was nice for the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. **

"Then why would she marry him?" Artemis asked outraged. Athena agreed.

They looked a Percy and all he said was "You'll find out later on in the book."

**When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

"Gross." Piper wrinkled her nose.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along . . . well, when I came home is a good example.**

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

"That is a live pigsty." Leo said. "I only know the description from the book, but I'm pretty sure I've slept in better places than that."

Percy didn't read for a moment and everyone noticed

"Perce, you good?" The Stolls asked but Percy didn't respond he looked lost in memories so, Annabeth took it and read on.

The gods looked at Percy with a tell-me-what-wrong's glare but he didn't respond only looked at the floor.

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"That's it?" Jason said incredulously. "_You got any cash?_"

"What kind of person does that?" Piper said.

"A b-."

"Language Nico!"

"Jeez, Thalia. It's not like I was going to curse."

"Nico, I know you and there's not that many curse words that start with b."

"Oh, and how would you know that?"

"Shut up."

**That was it. No **_**Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**_

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in a thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

Aphrodite shivered at this description.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Everyone looked at Percy who finally looked up.

His eyes showed no emotions.

"Percy did he hit you?" Poseidon said

Percy gave a slight nodded slightly but it was barely noticeable.

The demigods glowed their parent's respected color

Thalia and Nico growled thinking of tortures that the Furies would look away at with shame.

Percy finally spoke and said " It's alright, he is dealed with." only Annabeth got it but she was still mad that that excuse of a man hurted her little brother.

Percy took the book and continued reading.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

This generated a few smiles.

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

Everyone snorted.

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"At least someone there has some sense." Artemis and Hestia said.

Percy shook his head.

**"Am I**_** right?**_**" Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

All the girls in the room had a look of pure horror on their faces and some of the boys turned green.

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

"So do we."

"Oh he'll lose alright." Hermes stated. "If I have anything to do with it." He had a look on his face that stopped any one from asking what he meant.

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." **

"I doubt it's anything like a study." Katie said.

"It's probably just another place for Gabe to stink up." Demeter stated.

**He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

Poseidon's breathing increased heavily.

"Oh stop it, Poseidon." Hades said. When Poseidon glared at him he said in a wavering voice, "You'll get light headed and pass out."

Poseidon stopped glaring at Hades and Percy took this as a cue to keep reading.

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"He's very sarcastic." Jason said.

"Which is why he's fun to trade insults with when he's mad." Thalia said and Nico agreed.

Percy glared at the two and said "Oh, I love you guys so much." with so much sarcasm it could be cut in to fourths.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

"Wow." Leo said. "He's that bad?"

"Apparently." Hephaestus replied.

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic-how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone-something-was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

Everyone got a sudden chill in the air and Nico blurted out

"Is Uncle P a pessimist too?"

Everyone looked at him with What's-wrong-with-you stare.

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted away.**

"Momma's boy." Clarisse rolled her eyes. Percy glared at her and poured some of the Atlantic ocean on her.

The gods were shocked at the power Percy had.

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's been seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

"She sounds really nice." Piper said.

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

The demigods par Percy mouths watered. "Lucky!"

Percy was thinking about her blue cookies.

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?"**

Percy growled and glowed sea-green.

**I gritted my teeth.**

Everyone rolled their eyes at Percy.

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

"Or a god."

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

"It must have been a really good spin then." Chris said.

**Until the trip to the museum . . .**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

"Don't lie!" Hermes yelled.

Everyone gasped.

"Y-you just-" Conner stuttered.

"Oh please," Hermes said. "Even you know that this is something that he shouldn't lie about."

Percy walked up to his father and whispered "We need a party, Hermes is changing to a mature person.

Poseidon and Percy snickered while everone else looked at them and Percy just tooked the book and kept reading.

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

"No it wouldn't." Thalia said.

"Thals, you knew that I was loco back then." Percy said with a hint of spanish but Nico spoke up

"Yes it would." Nico stated. "Hey mom, the person that I thought was my math teacher is demonic and three old people cut some yarn earlier today. But you know what enough about me, how was your day?"

Everyone snorted. Nico made it sound so silly and ridiculous.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but didn't push me.**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights-same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed,"**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

"He better let them go." Poseidon said.

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

Everyone scowled.

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

Hermes' eyes lit up. "Bribery." He turned to Poseidon. "I like your taste in women."

Poseidon and Percy glared at Hermes, who said eepped and hid behind Apollo.

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip . . . it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

Aphrodite nearly shrieked. "Her money for her _clothes?_ Why would she even _have _a budget?"

"Percy,Poseidon we are going to beat Gabe until he begs for mercy alright." Aphrodite said with controlled rage.

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

Aphrodite twitched.

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with the seven-layer dip . . . And maybe if the kid apologized for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

Everyone doubled over in hysterics while Clarisse and Ares chanted, "Do it!"

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

"Exactly."

"**I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

Thalia, Nico, and Percy smirked at this.

"I told you he/I was fun to trade sarcastic comments with." they said to Clarisse and Jason. They shrugged.

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.**

"Finally."

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about . . . whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes-the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride-as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car, he kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking-and more important, his '78 Camaro- for the whole weekend.**

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

"But he won't be driving?" Dionysus said. "He's not even drunk the proper amount to make a scratch on that car."

"Oh," Zeus said. "And how would you know the proper amount to be drunk to drive?"

"Umm… A god's intuition?"

"Uh-huh." Zeus said but he wasn't buying it.

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-of-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.**

"How'd you do that?" Demeter asked.

"Who cares!" Ares yelled. "Gabe got packed!"

The demigods smiled along with Ares.

Everyone looked at him for a reason and he said "Not yet, Auntie D"

They all groaned but Demeter smiled a bit at being called Auntie.

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,**

At this Athena and Annabeth shivered. Everybody else rolled their eyes at them.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"Why does he care if the sea is too cold to swim in?" Leo asked. "Shouldn't he still like that?"

**I loved the place.**

"Oh."

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

Poseidon smiled.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

"It's like her life force is the sea." Artemis stated.

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

"What's with all the blue food." Zeus asked. "That's my color. You'd think it'd be green."

"Go figure," Thalia said. "Kelp Head is weird like that."

Percy mock glared at her but some of the Gods and the demigods flinched a bit.

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

"Yes."

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She brought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This-along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano**

"Who would want to do that?" Demeter said. "I mean what kind of name is that?"

**-was proof she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak like me.**

"Streak! Percy doesn't have a rebellious streak." Nico said.

"Oh no, it's bigger than that." Annabeth agreed.

"I don't remember the last time he listened to someone." Connor stated.

"Yeah. Except for certain people that don't do easy." Travis grinned.

Some of the demigods snickered and Thalia had to gather all her will power so she wouldn't blush.

"What are you guys talking about?" Poseidon asked.

"Seriously. That's the second time you've made that joke." Hermes said.

Percy replied to them "Dad, remember I'm like you. I'm very rebellious

Poseidon made "O" shape with his mouth and said "Read Percy."

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk-my father.**

**Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

Everyone looked at Poseidon and Percy and said "DAMMMNNNN you'll just like twins."

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. **

"Does you relate everything to the water? I mean you said your mom _fished_ a jelly bean out of her bag." Artemis stated.

"Yeah and..." Percy said

Artemis blushed a bit but hid it before Zeus or most horribly Apollo saw her.

**"I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me?**

"A lot." Poseidon said.

**A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean . . . when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But . . . he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember . . . something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

**I have always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still. I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never seen me . . .**

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

At this Poseidon looked at Percy sadly.

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think . . . I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?" **

"Don't say that!" Rachel said.

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

"Good."

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I-I **_**have**_** to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said-that it was the best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me-all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under is broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"Why would your child be stalking him?" Zeus asked Poseidon.

"I probably sent him there to make sure he was safe."

**Before that-a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

"Just like my boy, Hercules." Zeus boasted

Percy growled and said with rage "I'm nothing like that arrogant, good for nothing, excuse of a hero. Alright?"

Zeus and the others were in shocked.

Thalia and Annabeth were the only ones that knew.

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. **

"Yes."

**But I couldn't make myself to tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

"Yes, yes. So risk your safety just to stay at the place where mommy met daddy." Athena said her voice oozing with sarcasm. The demigods however knew where Percy was coming from and they weren't sure what they would've done if it were them.

"Percy glared at Athena and said "yes, I would."

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy-the place your father wanted to send you. And I just . . . I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"The best place in the world." Chris said. Everyone else agreed.

The romans shrugged. "I could argue against that."

"Whatever."

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad-who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born-talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

"That does sound weird doesn't it?" Nico said.

**I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp . . ."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked any more questions she would start to cry.**

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

"First you two were mad," Demeter stated. "Now you're trying to kill each other. Will this ever end?"

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle's wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

Everyone turned to Hades who shrugged. "I don't know what I'm up to in the future."

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, **_**No!**_

Zeus shot up from his throne and pointed at Poseidon. "Ha, sucker! I win!" When he finished thunder rolled above and lightning crackled in the air.

After Zeus sat down Poseidon addressed everyone. "Told you he was dramatic."

Everyone rolled their eyes and Zeus huffed.

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

"Somebody's angry." Ares sang with delight.

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. **

"Yes Poseidon, why have you forgotten?" Hermes asked.

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice-someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't . . . he wasn't exactly Grover.**

"Then… What was he?" Connor asked his eyes bugged out.

Travis threw his hands in the air. "What abomination did our dear Grover turn into?"

Everyone rolled their eyes at the two.

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror-not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

_**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!"**_**he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on-and where his legs should be . . . where his legs should be . . .**

"Were what?" Connor screamed. "Come on Percy. Out with it!"

"Connor." Annabeth said. "You're speaking to a book." speaking like a kindegarten teacher saying each word slowly.

"Oh. Right."

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: **_**"Percy.**_** Tell me **_**now!"**_

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. **_**Go!"**_

**Grover ran for the Camaro-but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet.**

**There were cloven hooves.**

Percy sighed. "That's it."

Zeus looked outside to see how dark it was. "Why don't we continue tomorrow? It's getting late."

The other gods agreed. Hermes stood up. "I'll take you guys to your rooms for the night."

Athena took the book from Annabeth and said. "I'll keep this safe for the time being."

**that's it everyone i will have the next Chapter of Guardian of The Hunt up and running later thanks.**

**REVIEW PLZ I NEED TO KNOW YOU ARE OUT THERE SO THANKS.**


	6. Bull Fight

HEY I'M BACKKKKKKK! HERE'S CHAPTER FIVE OF LT BUT I GOT NEWS AFTER THE CHAPTER BUT HERE'S CHAPTER 5:

Thalia woke up that morning feeling a energetic and extremly happy which was strange to people who known her for time. She looked down and saw the slightly older boy still sleep.

She had no idea what he was doing at the Roman Camp or if he even _remembered_ her. For the past couple months all she could think was, _What if he has another girlfriend?_ But she couldn't keep herself down like that because if he didn't have another girlfriend she would have moped around for nothing.

Then she reconsidered her thoughts. If it took Kelp Head for three years just to admit his feelings for her- if it took three years to get together with him then he couldn't have gotten a girlfriend in just two months. Besides Kelp Head was _completely_ oblivious when it came to girls.

But could he?

She pushed the thought out of her mind and got ready for the day. She got up and walked to the kitchen. Last night before they had all gone to bed Hermes had given them a tour of where they would be staying. The place was built like a mansion and had too many rooms to count in it. Each room was different whether it was a game room or a bathroom or an arena-it's that big. After she got something to eat she met the other demigods in the throne room who were sitting around talking about the book. When she came in everyone turned towards her.

"Hey, Thals, where's Perce?"

"Hi and he's coming now."

"Were just waiting for Chris, Nico, and Percy then said. As if on cue the three boy walked in talking about Music.

They separated and Percy next to Thalia while Chris sat next to Clarisse. Annabeth took a seat on the other side of Thalia and talking for about ten minutes before the gods flashed in and said their greetings.

Athena held out the book once everyone had sat down. "Who's going to read today?"

"I'll read." Travis said.

When everyone turned to him to see if he was kidding or not he said, "What? I want to see if Grover ever puts his pants back on."

"Or if he ever enters that body building contest Nico mentioned." Connor agreed.

Athena shook her head at Connor and handed the book to Travis. "You know Nico's explanation was make-believe right?"

"But technically Grover's supposed to be make-believe too." Connor said.

Athena sighed. "Just read Travis."

"**MY MOTHER TEACHES ME BULLFIGHTING" **Travis read.

"That can't be good," Poseidon muttered.

We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind shield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.

"I like how she drives." Ares said. "That's exactly what I do when I ride my motorcycle."

"Oh yes," Hephaestus muttered. "And after every ride your motorcycle ends up in my shop and-"

"You end up in my care," Apollo continued. "With multiple cuts and injuries."

"And Aphrodite ranting on and on about how irresponsible you are." Hades added.

"And then," Poseidon finished. "After you get out of the infirmary Aphrodite pulls you aside, smacks you, and then you guys make ou-"

"That's enough Poseidon." Ares interrupted. He glanced at the group on the floor who was snickering and at Aphrodite who was blushing. "Why don't we keep reading?"

Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.

Connor snorted, "Shag-carpet pants."

Travis turned to Artemis. "Do you have some?"

"Some what?"

"Shag-carpet pants. They sound interesting."

"EXCUSE ME?" Artemis shrieked. "Why would I have shag-carpet pants?"

Travis withered under her glare. "'Cause you're the goddess of the hunt an-and I thought that if you hunted animals that you would m-make some type of clothes out of them."

"Artemis, hold on." Percy faced Travis and said," Travis, bro... speak another word and a certain strawberry won't have any kids."

Travis looked paniced and nodded and started to read again while Percy sat down and grinned his crooked grin at everyone that was looking at him weirdly.

But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.

"Not the best smell." Hermes said.

All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"

"Of course you would say that." Annabeth said shaking her head fondly at her "brother".

"It's Percy, what else would he say?" Rachel mused.

Grover's eyes flitted to the rear view mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."

"Watching me?"

"He makes it sound like he's a stalker." Leo and Percy said looking at Grover with caution

"In a way," Nico grimaced. "They kind of are."

They said in perfect unison, "You were raped by them!"

EVeryone busted out laughing and looked at Nico who turned more pale.

"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I _am _your friend."

"Urn ... what _are _you, exactly?"

"That doesn't matter right now."

"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"

"Donkey!" Leo shouted.

"Grover's not going to like that." Thalia said looking at her boyfriend.

"I like living at the edge." Percy stated while Poseidon, Hestia, and surprisngly Artemis paled

"Well now we have a new nickname for him." Chris mused. "Instead of goat boy we can call him donkey boy."

Grover let out a sharp, throaty _"Blaa-ha-ha!"_

I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.

"Goat!" he cried.

"What?"

"I'm a _goat _from the waist down."

"You just said it didn't matter."

"Blaa-ha-ha!

**There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"**

"See."

"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a _myth, _Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"

"So you _admit _there was a Mrs. Dodds!"

"Ugh, that's not the point." Thalia said.

"Of course."

"Then why—"

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."

"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"

The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.

Poseidon tensed.

"Percy," my mom said, "There's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."

"Safety from what? Who's after me?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."

Hades huffed. "Why does everyone always assume it's me?"

"While, since your an outcast of the Olympians, mortals always think your the bad guy when problems arise on Olympus." Percy stated with a serious gleam in his eyes while the old Greeks stared at him with shock.

"Grover!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.

"Oh yeah you have no imagination." Hermes rolled his eyes. "But apparently magic mushrooms are real."

"I was a 12 year old boy who had a _perfect _life." Percy said with sarcasm oozing out when he said perfect.

My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.

"There almost there." Piper said. She recognized the strawberry signs.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."

"The place you didn't want me to go."

"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."

"Because some old ladies cut yarn."

"No matter how ridiculous that sounds," Clarisse said. "That's only part of the reason."

"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."

"Don't scare him Grover." Thalia said.

"Whoa. You said 'you.'"

"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"

"You meant 'you.' As in _me._"

"I meant _you, _like 'someone.' Not you, _you._"

"What?" Leo said. "I don't get it."

"I didn't either, and I said, it." Percy said chuckling to himself.

"I think what he means is that when he said you he meant someone not Percy." Jason explained.

"Oh. But that's still kind of confusing."

"Boys!" my mom said.

She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.

"What was that?" I asked.

"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question.

"Don't we all ignore him?" Clarisse said.

"Another mile. Please. Please. Please."

I didn't know where _there _was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.

Everyone was leaning forward now.

Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really _hadn't _been human. She'd meant to kill me.

"No. That's not it at all." Dionysus said. "Zeus needed entertainment and told Hades to send an undead Shakespeare after you. But Hades misunderstood and thought Zeus wanted a fury sent because Zeus is dramatic."

"If that's the case," Demeter said. "Then why does Poseidon look like he wants to strangle Zeus and drown Hades."

Everyone glanced at Poseidon who was glaring intently at Zeus and Hades.

Ares grinned. "Maybe WWIII will happen after all."

Travis who had some sense if not any at all decided to read.

Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling _boom!, _and our car exploded.

"What!" Poseidon shrieked his voice two octaves higher. "What happened?"

I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.

I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."

"Percy!" my mom shouted.

"I'm okay..."

I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.

Lightning.

Every female present yelled at Zeus. Who sanked deeper in his throne.

Thalia who was scared forf her boyfriend got up and sat on Percy's lap and he started to stroke her hair and kiss her cheeks.

But, Poseidon's glare increase and he started thinking of ways to kill a immortal.

That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"

He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!

"I'm pretty sure that's the weirdest thing that I've ever heard." Leo said.

"Well, it depends on how many weird things you've ever heard." Hermes said.

"Knowing Leo," Jason stated. "Then that must be extremely weird."

Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.

Everyone cracked a smile at this.

"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.

I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.

By this time everyone knew what was happening and was anticipating Percy's arrival to camp.

"Or their actual horns." Annabeth said.

"Percy doesn't catch on that fast." Piper said.

"No." Clarisse said. "If he did, then a lot of things would have happened faster." She glanced at Annabeth.

I swallowed hard. "Who is—"

"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."

My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.

"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"

"Oh look," Thalia said. "I'm mentioned."

Percy hugged her tighter and kissed her but, that moment enede when, the Demigods yelled, "Either get a room or stop kissing!"

They looked at each other and got up and left. Zeus and Poseidon bowed their heads and said, Why Him/Her."

"What?"

Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.

"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."

"Mom, you're coming too."

Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.

"No!" I shouted. "You _are _coming with me. Help me carry Grover."

The females cooed (**yes even Reyna and the Maidens)**

Jason sat listening intently to what was going on. Maybe Percy could make it in the roman camp after all. He seemed very loyal.

"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.

The man with the blanket on his head

Athena sighed. "It's not a blanket." Piper was right. Percy was slow.

kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he _couldn't _be holding a blanket over his head,

"Finally."

because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns …

"The minot-"

"Don't say his name Apollo. Really after three thousand years you'd think he'd know."

"Jeez sis'. Don't have to so mean."

"Don't. Call. Me._ Sis'_."

"He doesn't want _us_," my mother told me. "He wants _you. _Besides, I can't cross the property line."

"But..."

"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."

I got mad, then—mad at my mother, at Grover the goat,

Connor chuckled. "Grover the goat."

"Sounds like a mascot." Travis said.

"That would be on a show on Disney Jr or Nick Jr."

"And would talk to little kids."

"And sing corny songs about growing up."

"And-"

"Ok, we get it!" Katie screamed. "Keep reading."

at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.

Everyone sighed.

I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."

"I told you—"

"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."

I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.

Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.

"You guys don't cut your lawn that often." Demeter ranted. "I should talk to Chiron about that. Maybe my kids could give you lessons on farming…"

"Here she goes again." Hades, Nico and Percy said while the others jumped when they notice Percy form right back in the throne room with Thalia on his back.

"You get this a lot in the underworld don't you?" Artemis asked.

"You don't know the end of it." they replied

"Umm… no offense and all," Travis said. "But I don't want to learn how to farm."

Percy and Nico face palmed and grabbed the Mp3s and listened to music while Hades flashe din his laptop and started on his unfinished work.

All the demigods agreed. "Why Travis?" Connor asked. "Aren't you supposed to impress your girlfriends mother? Ow! What was that for?"

Many of the demigods started laughing at this. Apollo, Ares, and Hermes cracked a smile. Athena and Artemis rolled their eyes. Demeter was eyeing Travis again.

Travis replied seething. "She's _not_ my girlfriend."

"Whatever."

Katie was a little disappointed but didn't show it.

Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of _Muscle Man _magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except under wear

"What?"

"Why's he wearing underwear?" Chris asked. They all turned to Nico, Percy, and Leo.

"What? Why are you all staring at us."

"Well don't you have a crazy and stupid explanationsfor this?" Annabeth asked.

"Not yet." they whined. ITakes time to come up with my explanations. It's not like I come up with them on the spot."

"But you did" Thalia replied.

"That's beside the point."

I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms

They all started cracking up at this.

—

**which would've looked funny,**

"It sure does now!" Jason said.

"Ooh! Ooh! I got it." They all turned to Nico.

"The minot- I mean the bull man was under a tree cuddled up into a Disney's Princess blanket in Tartarus when-"

"I'm sorry Disney's Princess blanket?" Zeus said.

"Yes." Nico replied. "When Krios, the titan of constellations, showed up and stole his pants. Then Hades called the minot- the bull man to go chase after Percy and he didn't have time to get a new pair of pants so he decided that he was scary enough without the pants and went after Percy."

…

"Nico?"

"Yeah Annie?

"What is in your _head_? _How_ do you come up with these explanations?"

"Craziness runs in the family." Demeter said glancing at Hades.

"His imagination never ceases to amaze me." Athena muttered. Artemis agreed.

except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.

His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.

"Ugh," Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. "Somebody needs a makeover."

I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.

I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"

"Don't say his name!"

"Pasiphae's son," my mother said.

Athena raised in eyebrow. Poseidon had chosen a very smart lover.

"I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."

"But he's the Min—"

"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."

"She knows a lot." Jason said.

"She's clear sighted." Annabeth explained.

The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.

I glanced behind me again.

The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.

"Food?" Grover moaned.

"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"

"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."

As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.

Not a scratch,

I remembered Gabe saying.

"Oops." Nico snickered.

Oops.

Evryone busted up laughing except, Percy he sat there with a amused smile but you could tell he was thinking about something.

"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

"I'm surprised Poseidon." Athena said.

"And why is that?"

"You picked a very smart person to be with."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out."

"How do you know all this?"

"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."

All the half-bloods sighed.

"Keeping me near you? But—"

Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.

He'd smelled us.

"NO!" The tension of the room increased.

The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter. The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us. My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."

"This is a plan for disaster." Thalia and Annabeth said

"Well you're not helping it!" Poseidon replied.

I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.

Everybody wrinkled their noses.

He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.

The tension in the air was evident right now. Poseidon looked like he was going to explode into a puddle of water any time soon.

Literally.

The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing.

So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.

The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.

Everyone gasped.

We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.

"Huh." Chris said. "You were right Nico. Percy really is a pessimist."

"It runs with the my father's blood, Theseus and Orion were too."

The demigods once again looked at him with questioning glances but shook it off.

The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eying my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.

"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"

But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.

"No!"

Percy sat still he didn't move, speak, or breath. Poseidon was the same. Hestia and Thalia comforted but they looked lost in memories.

"Mom!"

She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"

Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.

At this very moment Poseidon _did _burst into a puddle of water and Percy turned to Mist.

"Umm… Will they be okay?" Leo asked looking around the throneroom

Apollo sighed. "He'll be fine. He can still hear and see what's going on but he's going to be like that until the stress goes away. Percy's mom almost gave him a heart attack."

"No!"

Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.

Everyone who knew Percy personally started to smile.

The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.

I couldn't allow that.

Jason had to admit that Percy was brave. He didn't back down from his problems. He could make it at the roman camp. Now all Jason needed was more proof of that.

I stripped off my red rain jacket.

"Oh, no." Thalia said. Another of Kelp Head's crazy ideas.

"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"

"Those are one of the worst taunts that I've ever heard." Ares said. He would have said more but he was too caught up in the book. Just like the others. Who knew reading could be so violent?

"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.

I had an idea

"Oh no." Annabeth and Nico grimaced she had been right.

"Oh come on," Leo said. "His ideas can't be _that _bad."

"You'd be surprised." Annabeth muttered.

—

**a stupid idea,**

"Oh." Leo said.

but better than no idea at all.

"I guess it makes sense." Jason said.

I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.

But it didn't happen like that.

Annabeth sighed. "Does it ever happen like that?"

"Nope." Clarisse said. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Clarisse. She had been with them at the sea of monsters but not much had happened.

Clarisse sighed. "You'll find out later."

The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.

Time slowed down.

My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.

How did I do that?

"That's what we want to know."

I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.

"Well thanks for almost knocking me over Percy." Thalia said sarcastically.

"Um… Thalia?"

"Shut up, Percy before I-" She started but Percy smashed his lips on her shutting her up

The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.

"Why do monsters have to be so repulsive?" Aphrodite asked. She did not like the bull man at all.

"Well…" Nico said.

"Never mind that." Katie said afraid of Nico's crazy explanations. "Keep reading Travis."

The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.

"That's good." Piper said.

Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.

Travis sucked in his teeth. "Not a good feeling either." Connor grimaced.

"What-" Piper started then thought about it. "Never mind."

"Food!" Grover moaned.

The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—_snap!_

"He must be really protective of her and care about her a lot to do be able to do that." Artemis said. She was surprised at how much Percy cared about his mother. Not many boys did that.

The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.

"Oh," Nico said. "That's what's in his cabin." He had seen Percy's cabin when they were examining it to find any clues of how he went missing.

The monster charged.

Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.

The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.

The monster was gone.

"That's…really impressive." Ares said. He was amazed at how naturally this all came to Percy.

The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm house. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.

Everyone smiled in sympathy for Percy.

The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.

Annabeth's face went red at this but only the demigods noticed. Some of them snickered.

Artemis turned to Aphrodite. "It must be one of your children."

Aphrodite agreed. "I think he has a crush on her." Poseidon, who had reformed by then rolled his eyes at her.

They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."

Aphrodite beamed at this. "Whoever they are I'm going to have fun messing with their love lives."

"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."

The gods gasped and looked at Annabeth. "Umm…"

HEY GUYS I DECIDED TO SKIP AHEAD TO THE THE TITAN'S CURSE BECAUSE PERLIA IS MORE INVOVLED BUT AFTER THAT IT'LL BE THE LAST OLYMPIAN BUT READ AND REVIEW RIGHT NOW OR I'M COMING FOR YOU


	7. Author's Note (sorry)

**I'M DEEPLY SORRY IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A CHAPTER AND IM GOING TO UPDATE BY FRIDAY OR SATURDAY**

**BUT IM VERY PISSED AT A USER WHO GO BY THE NAME OF ARTEMISANDORION HAS PM SAYING THAT I WAS A "LITTLE KID" **

**BUT IF UR READING THIS AAO THEN GET THIS I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU NOR WELL I EVER WILL SO MIND YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS BECAUSE I WAS BEING NICE IF YOU WANT THE REAL ME THEN LET ME PM YOU AND I WILL SHOW YOU THE REAL ME BECAUSE IM NOT SOME ONE TO BE MESSED WITH IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO HIM JUST LET ME PM YOU AND STOP BEIN G BEING A LITTLE GIRL OR PUNK BECAUSE I DONT LIKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND I WILL NOT SIT RIGHT HERE AND LET YOU DISS ME SO LET ME PM YOU AND WE CAN TALK PRIVATELY.**

**TO MY FANS IM SORRY IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A CHAPTER I WILL MAKE GoTH tHE CHAPTER OVER 1500 WORDS FOR YOU ALL.**

**AND FOR ArtemisandOrion, I UNDERSTAND IT WAS AN OPINION BUT IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE PAIRING THEN USE COMMON SENSE AND DON'T READ IT **

**I WILL POST NEW CHAPTERS OF ALL MY STORIES BY SATURDAY I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX AND CHAOS I HAD TO BLOW SOME STEAM**


End file.
